This invention is directed to a system and method for selectively and automatically incorporating a watermark image on a document to designate a copy from an original. More particularly, this invention is directed to a system and method for use with a document processing device to insert a selected watermark image into a document to distinguish an original document from a copy.
Typical image processing devices, such as multifunction peripheral devices, include a variety of features. These features generally include printing, scanning, faxing, and copying. Advancements in copying techniques and hardware have resulted in the increasing quality of electrophotographic reproductions. The increase in quality has made it difficult to distinguish an original document from a copied document. Previous attempts have included the use of watermarks on a copy of a document. However, these attempts do not offer the ability for an administrator to selectively set the watermark image for different types of image processing operations. In addition, these attempts do not enable the selective and automatic inclusion of watermark images in both copying and printing jobs.
This invention overcomes the aforementioned problems and provides a system and method for inserting a selected watermark image on a document.